Bullet Wounds and Broken Hearts
by Vince2012
Summary: The door closed behind her, and my heart was shattered. Even getting shot couldn't hold a candle to the pain I felt as I watched her walk out of that door.
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings: This story will contain: Adult themes and situations, Violence, Profanity, Alcohol use, and possible Self-Injury. If any of these things bother you or will trigger you, I suggest not reading it. It's rated M for a reason.**

**A/N: Hello dearest friends, this is my first attempt at a Jori story and I hope you enjoy. My goal is to update at least once a week. Hopefully I can but life happens.**

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**~Tori~**

Jade pressed me back into the door of the Janitor's closet as she assaulted my lips with extraordinary vigor. Goodness could this girl kiss. Her hands began to roam from their position on my hips as she kissed me harder. I gasped when I felt her hand go up my shirt. Her nails skimmed across my stomach roughly, leaving trails of red.

I wanted more. Badly.

I pulled her deeper into the kiss with the hand I had buried in her hair. She responded by squeezing my breasts through the fabric of my bra. I suddenly felt way too hot, and I needed everything off now.

Her hands receded from underneath my shirt as we broke from our kiss, causing me to whine at the loss. Our breaths were choppy and ragged. I placed my hands on her shoulders trying to steady myself. She looked at me with her blue-green eyes with an intensity that made my knees weak. Her fingers began to work on the button of my jeans, dispatching of it quickly before shoving them down my legs.

She grabbed both of my wrists and roughly pinned them above my head as she kissed me feverishly and placed a knee lightly between my legs. I whimpered into the kiss. I was so freaking close and she was barely touching me. I tried my best to grind against her thigh, but I was barely able to create any friction; the way she had me jammed to the wall didn't give me much leverage. Her lips left mine and went to my neck, placing soft kisses and nips all over.

"Jade!" I gasped desperately when she nipped me hard. In response she shifted her leg a bit to give me a bit more of her thigh to work with. I happily accepted it, pressing into it as much as I could.

She adjusted my wrists so that she could keep both of them pinned with one hand, and her other hand began descending. Her skilled fingers slid across my breasts and downward across my stomach. I desperately wished for my shirt to disappear right now, so I could feel her fingers against my bare skin.

Her hand began to creep to the waistband of my panties. Her fingers began to slide under the soaked material… And then my alarm went off.

I woke with a start before slamming my hand down on my alarm clock's off button. I was drenched in sweat and there was an unmistakable throbbing between my legs. I groaned, pressing my hands to my face. This was the third freaking dream I've had about Jade doing… naughty things to me this week, and it was Wednesday for goodness sake! This was getting out of hand.

It wasn't the fact that Jade is a girl. I've known about my preference for females since I was in 9th grade at Sherwood. But out of all of the girls at Hollywood Arts, I had to have a crush on the one that hates me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, desperately rubbing the heels of my hands against my eyes, like that would rid the images that came flooding back. I don't even know when I developed this infatuation with Jade. I had been trying to sort out my feelings for her since the day I met her. The first time I saw her, when she stormed into Sikowitz's room, I remember thinking that she was freaking drop dead gorgeous. Then she yelled at me. That quickly squashed my initial attraction to her. And that was it for a while; her ganky and cold attitude, particularly towards me, shut down any crush I had on her.

But the more I hung around Jade; I began to see different sides of her. She became more civil towards me, and though she wouldn't admit it, we were friends. While our relationship mainly consisted of me trying to build bridges and her immediately tearing them down, there was just something about Jade that drew me too her. Sure she was Ganky McGankypants most of the time, but on several occasion I saw something else, something deeper. I was just drawn to her, like a bug to a bug zapper, and no matter how many times she zapped me, I couldn't stop coming back.

I sighed, getting up and heading to the bathroom before Trina took it over. I got under the hot spray, and closed my eyes relaxing for a second. But images from the dream bombarded me, and the aching downstairs returned full force.

I briefly thought about finishing what my dream started, but almost as soon as my hand began moving down I heard a pounding at the door.

"Hurry up Tori! I need to be extra fabulous for the last day of school before winter break." Trina screeched through the door.

I groaned as I quickly completed my shower. Today was going to be a long day.

{~*~}

The combination of my mind focusing on my feelings for Jade and my inability to sate my desire that morning took a toll on my mood. A jab Jade took at me early in the day bothered me a lot more than usual. I was still pretty cheerful since it was the last day of school until January, but I wasn't as cheerful as usual. Andre could tell something was definitely off with me. He was standing by my locker before lunch.

"Hey chica, what's got you on tilt today?" Andre asked in a friendly tone.

I bit my lip considering telling him what was going on. No one knew about my Jade problem, and maybe it would help. Andre was always good at helping me sort things out. He's the absolute best friend a gal could ask for. I exhaled heavily as I switched out my books.

"It's… complicated Andre." I said, sidestepping the question.

He smiled. "Tori, it's fine if you don't wanna talk to me about it. I'll be ready to listen if and when you're ready to tell me. All I care about it turning that frown upside down." He poked my side, causing me to giggle. And that is why he's the best. He didn't push me for answers, but still offered his support. I closed my locker door, and we head to the Asphalt Café.

I thought about it for a second, before deciding it would be good to get it off my chest.

"How about you come over later, and we'll talk about it then?" I replied.

He wrapped me in a hug. "Of course chica, what about I come over around 7? We can chat and watch Christmas movies."

"Sounds good Andre. You're the best." I beamed. Andre could always brighten my day.

The rest of the day past fairly normally. The teachers were pretty chill because they wanted the final bell to ring just as much as we did.

Sikowitz told me after his class that he wanted to talk to me after school about an upcoming role he thought I would be great for. The role was in an original musical, called _A Cloud in the Shade_, being produced by a local theater troupe. So as he requested I ran to his classroom after school ended, where he gave me the details about where and when the audition would be held and what I needed to do to prepare. It took all of ten minutes to finish discussing the finer points of the musical's audition process, after which I wished him a good winter break and sprinted outside to the parking lot.

The parking lot was thinning quickly, and I didn't see Trina's car anywhere. I groaned before pulling out my phone and pounding out a quick text to her. I had told her about my after school meeting and told her to wait on me, and she surprisingly agreed. But now she was nowhere in sight. I opened my messages after my phone buzzed, and saw 1 new message from Trina.

_From Trin:_

_I had to leave! They are having a sale at The Fancy Moose Boutique in West Hollywood! There is no way I could miss 5% off on everything in the store!_

I sighed. Seriously? She left me to go to a 5% off everything sale at a store called The Fancy Moose. 5 freaking percent! 5 percent couldn't wait an extra 10 minutes? Ugh, I strongly dislike Trina at times.

I began contemplating how to get home, when Jade strode past me. I bit my lip. I figured that it was worth a shot to ask her. I mean even though she didn't exactly consider me her friend, she might feel generous enough to give me a ride.

"Hey, Jade!" I called after her.

She threw a glance over her shoulder at me, and began walking faster. I had to jog to catchup to her, and I made it to her just as she reached her Black Mazda RX-8.

"Jade?" I repeated. She turned to face me.

"What do you want Vega? It's winter break, aka Vega free time for me, it started 15 minutes ago." She replied. The annoyance in her voice was crystal clear. That comment stung, but I fought past it.

"I- Well Trina left me, a-and I need a ride home. So I wanted to ask if you would mind taking me home." I asked her nervously. She scoffed.

"And how exactly is Ms. Talentless leaving you my problem Vega? Do I look like a chauffeur?"

"It isn't your problem Jade, and I know you're not a chauffeur. I just thought I'd ask."

She looked at me incredulously, before replying in a faux shocked voice. "You can think? Who would've thought."

It was clearly bait to get me angry. Instead it stung deeply, bringing a pang of pain and sadness to me.

I sighed, my face falling. Welp there goes that idea. "It's fine if you don't want to. I mean I totally get it, you aren't my friend, you don't like me, and you don't want to have anything to do with me for the next month. So since you aren't taking me, I guess-"

She cut me off. "Jesus quit babbling. Do you ever shut up or are you unable to because you are mentally handicapped?"

That stung quite a bit. I mean she was almost always a gank to me, but was rarely this mean straight up. I felt tears building in my eyes, but forced them not to fall.

"Vega why are you giving me that look?"

I looked at her confused. "What look?" My voice was wavering.

"The 'kicked puppy mixed with sad kid with cancer' look. Jesus it's worse than Cat's begging/pouting face."

"I'm sorry?" I said unsure of what else I could say before turning around. I had taken about 3 steps before she called after me.

"Get in the fucking car Vega." she grumbled after me.

I was surprised by her niceness. I couldn't help but question who was this nice Jade, and where did mean Jade go? I quickly went around the car and dropped into the passenger seat, before she changed her mind.

"Thank you Jade, I really-." I started.

She pressed a finger to my lips. "Shut the hell up Vega. Not another word until I drop you off or I will throw you out of my car." She said gratingly.

I nodded. Welp I found mean Jade, call off the search parties. I pulled on my seat belt as the car hummed to life, and she tore out the parking lot and on to the main road going at least 25 over the speed limit.

"I'm stopping at the bank first Vega." She told me.

I made a sound of affirmation, before glancing at her. I hadn't realized how freaking good she looked today. She had red extensions in today, with light make up that enhanced her face. She was dressed in a black tank top, which showed off her cleavage, a black skirt with a funky but cute design which showed off her legs, and some combat boots. She showed off her … assets without going overboard.

All I could think of was how soft her skin would be, and how it would feel to kiss her luscious looking lips. How her fingers would feel dancing on my skin. I felt a heat building in the pit of my stomach, which caused me to realize suddenly I was ogling her and imagining certain non-G-rated scenes. A blush to rise to my face, and I quickly looked away from her.

I glanced back at her to see if she noticed, and thankfully she didn't. I sighed internally; annoyed at this crush I had on Jade that just wouldn't go away. She treated me like crap most of the time, and we had almost nothing in common. But yet I was super freaking attracted to her. I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deep breath. I would be home soon and wouldn't have to think about this with her present.

I suddenly became super self-conscience about what I was wearing: a sweatshirt, faded jeans, and converses. She just looked so much better than me. I was just plain little Tori.

I was brought from my thoughts when the car jerked to a stop in front of a bank. Jade began digging through her bag, before pulling out her wallet. She glanced up and slapped the steering wheel. "Fuck! Of course the fucking ATM is fucking broken." She seethed. I winced at her vulgar language.

I turned to follow her line of sight, and saw a large "Out of Order" sign covering the ATM. She turned off the car, before glancing at me and sighing. "You might as well come in with me Vega. The line looks long as hell."

I nodded getting out the car and followed her into the bank. The line was indeed long as heck. I played with my phone after we got in line, busting out a quick text to Andre about what movies he wanted to watch tonight.

"Of fucking course the ATM is broken, and there is only one teller station open. This is going to take forever." Jade grumbled.

I rolled my eyes at her impatience, but said nothing in favor of replying to a message from Andre. I pressed send and an error message popped up saying "No Signal". I thought that was odd, since I had signal just a second ago. I waved my phone around trying to get a signal, when a loud series of something that sounded like firecrackers went off. I glanced around confused like everyone else, and was suddenly yanked down to the floor by Jade.

I didn't land very gracefully, wincing at the impact. I looked up and leveled a glare at Jade. "Jade! What the-"

I was interrupted by the front door of the bank slamming open, and the loud fireworks like sound occurred again. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a security guard fall to the ground lifeless, blood pooling around his body.

"Everyone on the fuckin' ground now! Let's go on your stomachs!" Someone yelled. I looked up to see a masked, very big muscular man carrying an assault rifle. I realized what that it was the gun that was making those noises. I felt fear seep into me after I figured out I was in the middle of a freaking bank robbery. The rifle went off again. I don't know why, I guess I wanted to be comforted, but I grabbed Jade's hand then squeezed my eyes shut and whimpered. I looked up after a second to see Jade looking at me with a scowl, but she made no move to remove her hand from mine. She even gave my hand a slight squeeze, and it calmed me down a bit. Everyone else was on the floor now.

"Good afternoon Sirs and Madams, my name is John Smith. This bank is getting robbed. If you cooperate you will all be home in time for dinner. Anyone who doesn't want to cooperate will have a nice long conversation with my friend over there with the happy trigger finger." Another voice chimed in, followed by a series of gun shots. I saw another masked man with an athletic build carrying a large pistol; apparently John Smith. "As you may have noticed, your phones are no longer working. We have a cell jammer set up, and there will be no calls out. As for the silent alarm, that has been disabled. No help is coming."

I shivered in terror, by now I had a death grip on Jade's hand. Had we not been in the middle of a bank robbery, I likely would be enjoying it very much and question why she was holding my hand. But unfortunately we were.

The John walked to the teller counter, and knocked on the glass. "Hello is anyone home?" he asks in a sickeningly sweet voice. A woman came to the window. "I would like to make a withdrawal." I heard the crackle of a radio turning on and a reply.

"Of course sir do you have an account with us?" The woman replied shakily.

John snorted. "Don't get smart with me sweetheart; open the door to behind the counter and then the vault!"

"Sir, we cannot open either-"

She was cut off by a gunshot and the sound of a bullet colliding with the glass. She screamed.

"If I was on the other side of this counter that would have been in your head. I will ask you once more time, Anna DeSoto, Bank Manager, Age 37, Social Security Number 995-66-1051, born in Portland, who lives at 1304 Honeycutt court, open the door. Otherwise your daughter Vanessa will have a little accident on the way home from Lakeside Daycare."

I was shocked; he recited the woman personal details like a grocery list. How the heck did he know so much about her?

I heard frantic footsteps and a door click open. "Please sir don't hurt my daughter!" the bank manager cried.

"That is up to you Anna. Open the vault, and do not bother lying to me, I know the time lock is set for 4:02 pm. You will enter the combination, and open the vault. Am I clear?" John said.

I glanced at my phone it was 4:02. I heard a tumbler spin, and then a large clicking followed by a loud squeaking as the vault opened. Another chubby masked man I hadn't seen before followed John in the vault, while the first man with the rifle to watch over us. With my free hand I discretely reached into my bag and grabbed my bottle of police issue pepper spray my dad gave me. He told me it was 10 time as concentrated as commercial pepper spray. I slipped it in my pocket.

I looked back at Jade, and she was looking at me like I was crazy.

"Are you insane?" She whispered when the first man had his back to us.

"I'm not doing anything, it's just in case." I whisper to her. I gave her hand a squeeze to indicate I wasn't going to do anything, and she squeezed it back surprisingly.

After several tense minutes I heard footsteps.

"Which one are we taking?" I heard the cubby third man ask. I didn't hear a response so I assumed John, who seemed to be the leader, pointed somewhere. He began to stride towards the door.

I came to the realization that they were going to kidnap somebody! My heart was beating in my chest with terror. My mouth suddenly felt dry and I felt dizzy. I'm pretty sure I wazzed a little in my pants too. All I could think was please not me please not me. Then footsteps began approaching me, and I felt panic rising up.

I saw a pair of boots appear by my head. My heart stopped.

I saw an arm reach down and then I felt a yank, but I was still on the ground. It took me a second to realize the man had grabbed Jade, and her hand had been ripped from mine.

"Get the fuck off me." I heard Jade spit venomously.

"Ah a feisty one and quite hot, you'll be a lot of fun." The chubby man replied. I began feeling nauseated, imagining the "fun" they would have with Jade.

I suddenly felt a lot worse at the thought of losing Jade. I lied earlier when I said I had a crush on Jade. It was so much more than that. Possibly even the L word. And I guess that's what took over.

I felt adrenaline flood me. Abruptly I felt confident I could make it out safe if they took me. I became sure of it, I had learned a lot of defensive techniques from my dad, and with the pepper spray I could escape.

I stood and grabbed the man's arm. The wazzbag needed to get his grubby hands off of Jade.

"Take me instead!" I said, there was no turning back now.

"What the hell are you doing Vega?" Jade yelled at me.

The chubby man turned and looked at me confused "Oh we have a volunteer, eh? Well two would certainly be better than one." He replied in a sick suggestive tone.

No! No! This wasn't supposed to happen! He was only supposed to take me. The adrenaline-based confidence quickly faded.

He grabbed my arm and pushed me into the first, very muscular man, and then he grabbed Jade's arm. "Let's go!" He ordered as he drug us towards the entrance to the bank. I was temporarily blinded by the sun as we exited the bank. Jade and I were then shoved in to a white panel van, and on to a bench on one side. Next to us were several huge duffel bags, and I could see money sticking out of them.

The third man sat across from us, while the first man joined John up front. They took off their masks. The fear inside me grew. My dad told me that if a perp takes off a mask, it usually means they won't leave any witnesses living. We weren't going to live through this. We saw their faces, and they had no intention of letting us go. I swallowed thickly, trying to come up with a plan.

"What the fuck Ted you were only supposed to grab one." I heard John yell at the third man. John had blond hair messy from taking the mask off, and Ted, the third man, had brown hair with a horrible 5 o'clock shadow coving his chin.

"The other bitch volunteered, I figured more fun for all of us." Ted replied. I squeezed my eyes shut. This couldn't be happening.

"Ted! Stick to the fucking plan!"

"Chill the fuck out John. This is going without a hitch." The first man said, I could only see his black hair.

"What the fuck ever Seth." John growled at the first man. "Ted take the zip ties and bind their hands."

Ted reached into a bag and produced zip ties, then went to Jade to bind her hands.

"Give me your hands!" he commanded Jade.

I saw out of the corner of my eyes a glint. Jade had a pair of scissors. My heartbeat quickened. In an instant I heard a screech of pain as blood shot from Ted's thigh.

"You fucking bitch!" Ted yelled as he fell backwards to the other side of the van, grabbing his thigh and thrashing about in pain.

"Seth kill the goth bitch! We only need one!" John yelled as the van screeched around a corner.

Seth climbed over the seat and pointed a revolver at Jade's head before saying, "It's a shame really. I'm sure you would have been a lot of fun." He chuckled. Jade was frozen with fear. I had never seen her look scared before, let alone anything like the terror that adorned her features.

He began to squeeze the trigger.

He couldn't hurt Jade.

He couldn't.

I wouldn't let him.

It felt like I wasn't even in control of my body as I grabbed the pepper spray from my pocket, jumped up and grabbed at the revolver as I sprayed at his face with the pepper spray.

The gun went off as I fell on top of Seth to the floor of the van. I felt something rip through my left shoulder, a sudden and intense pain searing through it. I let out a scream of agony, but didn't stop trying to wrestle the gun away from him. He was desperately trying to get the pepper spray out of his eyes and keep the gun at the same time. I grabbed at it again with my good arm, and it went off a second time. I heard a scream from the front seat, and I felt the van start to roll over.

My head smashed into something and everything became fuzzy. I began to drift in and out of consciousness.

I felt someone picking me up. I couldn't see who, so I began fighting it weakly. I couldn't get away.

"-Vega…Jade…calm.." I could barely make out what the voice was saying. My head felt like it was submerged in sand. I strained to open my eyes, but couldn't.

I felt myself being carried then being placed on the ground, and a weight on my left shoulder. It hurt like heck, but I couldn't move at all to get away from the pain.

"-corner of Anderson… shot…hurry…fucking dying." The voice said. I tried again to force my eyes open, and was barely able to do so. I saw Jade looking down at me, tears streaking down her face. She smacked my face lightly. "Wake … Vega… can't die… on me… don't…dare."

The fuzziness became worse, and my vision began to blur. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I felt like I was underwater.

I heard a loud "Tori!" before everything went black.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review if it isn't too much trouble :).**


	2. Chapter 2

**~Jade~**

I was sitting on a hard plastic chair, with my head in my hands. An audible buzz from the florescent lights above me, the work of the surgeons, and the beeping of a heart monitor were the only sounds in the observation room.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I had my head in my hand looking down at the skirt I was wearing. A black skirt with a blood splatter design covered in actual blood. Vega's blood.

I stood quickly letting out a growl of frustration as the chair clattered to the floor behind me, the sound echoing in the empty room. I approached the large glass window looking down at Vega's body that lay lifeless on the operating table. The only indication that she was even still alive was the beeping of the heart monitor.

I took a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut as I placed my forehead against the cool glass.

There was an intense squeezing pain in my chest, as if someone had parked an 18-wheeler on top of me as the memories flicked through my mind. The memory of her whimpering in pain as I carried her out of that van, blood pouring down my hands and arm. Of her lying on the concrete, blood pooling around her as it gushed from her shoulder. Each heartbeat expelling blood. Each heartbeat bringing her closer and closer to death's doorstep. Her eyes barely opening and a ghost of a smile flickering across her lips. Each image cut deeper and deeper. I wanted so desperately not to care about Tori. I wanted desperately to not care that she got hurt and almost died. But I did.

I cared a fucking lot.

I wanted to skin those fuckers alive with the sharpest pair of scissors I own. I wanted to cut their skin off one square inch at a time until their bodies were void of skin, so that they could feel something even remotely close to what I was feeling right now. To feel the pain that Vega was going through.

I huffed angrily. I also wanted to punch Vega in her stupid face repeatedly for volunteering to be taken. Why the fuck did Vega have to be so fucking stupid? Why the fuck would she _volunteer_ to be kidnapped? I could've taken care of myself. The last thing I needed was for her to be there; for her to get hurt.

But then again it is Tori fucking Vega. Little miss perfect, as always, trying to come to the rescue. Always trying to help me no matter what I did to her. Always there for me. Always trying to be my friend. She has been a thorn in my side since the first time I saw her. She had been performing in the Big Showcase, replacing her talentless sister (Thank God), and she stirred up feeling inside of me that I hadn't felt in almost 4 years. Feelings I shouldn't have, feelings I _can't_ have, welled up inside of me as I watched her dying in front of me. Feelings for a girl I wanted to hate.

So I tried to keep her away. Being an absolute bitch to her in every single way I could muster. I sabotaged her every endeavored, got her in trouble multiple times, and did my best to make her miserable every day. But she was always there with a bright smile no matter what I did to her. She was like a Chinese Finger Trap; the harder I tried to pull away from her, the stronger she held on.

It was dumb luck that both of us didn't end up washing up in some drainage ditch dead. Dumb fucking luck and Vega being fucking Vega. Dumb luck the second bullet hit the driver, causing the van to flip, but Vega fighting for the gun even after she got shot. Vega fighting for the gun, while I sat there motionless.

I stabbed that first asshole in the leg, but when I was staring down the barrel of a gun I froze. I became a gutless, spineless, piece of shit. Instead of carrying out the rest of my plan, which was to grab the first guy's gun after stabbing him, I became a pussy. Here I was with barely a scratch on me, while Vega had a bullet in her shoulder. While Vega might die. And it would be all my fault. Mine. My fault I took her to that stupid bank. My fault I didn't tell her to wait in the car. My fault I pussied out.

I rode along with her in the ambulance, watching as the paramedic tried to patch up her shoulder. They tried to admit me to the hospital, for some bruises, instead of locking me up for getting Vega potentially fatally injured. Of course me being Jade West I told them exactly where they could shove that admittance, and demanded to be taken to the observation room for the operating room where Vega's surgery was taking place.

And here I was watching the doctors mend the wound I caused. I could only pray to god that she didn't die.

Right as they finished closing her up the heart monitor started producing a single continuous beep. My eyes shot to the heart monitor, which displayed an unbroken line, indicating no heartbeat. Vega was dead.

I slammed my fist on the glass and screamed "Don't you fucking give up Vega! Don't you fucking dare!" My outburst earned me several glances from the surgical staff, but their attention quickly returned to Vega.

They quickly wheeled over a defibrillator, and zapped her. Her body seized off of the table, but no heartbeat started. I squeezed my eyes shut, a sick feeling welling in the pit of my stomach. All I could think was that I just watched Vega die.

I heard a second zap, but the heart monitor didn't change. That piercing unbroken beeping continued. It felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest.

I heard a sigh. Then the surgeon begin, "Time of Dea-"

It hit me that he was pronouncing her dead. I slammed my fist on the window again. Yelling down at them "Don't you fucking dare! She's not dead! Fucking Zap her again!"

The surgeon turned to look at me. "Ma'am I'm sorry but your girlfriend is d -"

"Fucking shock her again!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I glared at him. I must have looked insane. I heard another sigh as he turned, and the defibrillator charging.

"Clear!" he ordered.

The sound of defibrillator discharging into her body echoed around the room. Vega's body convulsed as the electricity pulsed through her system.

Then a Beep. And another. And another.

I heard one of the nurses say in disbelief "She's got a pulse."

I squeezed my eyes closed as I slid to my knees. I could feel the tears pooling behind my eyelids. The weight on my chest lifted, at least a little bit. I vaguely heard the surgeon order her to be taken to the ICU.

After several minutes, I gathered myself wiping at the dry tears on my face. I took several deep breathes before storming out of the observation room, and toward the ICU. I traipsed past several rooms looking for Vega, ignoring the calls of the nurses telling me I couldn't be there unless I was family.

I finally found her room, and froze as I entered the door. There she was bandaged to all hell, covered in tubing and wires. She looked broken, and I couldn't help but think of that stupid fucking smile that flashed across her face when I told her I would give her a ride. I'm sure she regrets asking me, just as much I regret saying yes, and getting her hurt.

Had I not screamed at them to shock her again, she would've been the second person I killed.

I heard heavy footfalls behind me, and then a burley voice said "Miss, I need you to come with me."

I turned to see a huge muscular man dressed in a security uniform towering over me. His name tag said Hank. "I'm not going anywhere, so fuck off Hercules."

His jaw tightened, "Miss this is your final warning please come with me, or I will have to remove you from the premises by force."

I scoffed. "I would like to see you try."

He grabbed my upper arm roughly, and started pulling me into the hallway. I tried to wrench my arm away from him to no avail. Just as he pulled me out the doorway of Vega's room, I heard another voice. "Sir, I'll take it from here."

I looked up to see Vega's dad standing there dressed in his police uniform, with his wife clinging to his side. Her eyes were red from crying.

Hank glared down at me clearly wanting nothing to do with me, before letting me go. He stalked off with a frown.

"Your Tori's friend right? Uh- Jade?" Mr. Vega asked. He had a gentle smile on his face, his expression shining with compassion.

"Yeah." I said quietly. I had to get the fuck out of there. I almost killed his fucking daughter and he is standing there _smiling _at me. I couldn't take it. "I should go." I relayed curtly before turning on my heel and out of the unit.

{~*~}

I stood in the shower with the water as hot as it could go. I looked down at the floor of the tub watching pink water swirl around my feet and down the drain. Pink with Tori's dried blood washing off of me.

At some point I left the shower lazily toweling off before dressing in an Sixx:A.M. t-shirt and some sweatpants. I dropped heavily onto my bed, and huddled under the covers trying to sleep so I could escape reality for a few hours. But despite how exhausted I was, sleep didn't come.

I tossed and turned for what felt like forever. I replayed the moment where the surgeon called Vega my girlfriend over and over in my head. Despite it being a random assumption it resonated with me. I was unsure of what to do with those thoughts.

I gave up and opened my eyes. I was lying on my bed staring up at the bland white ceiling of my basement bedroom; only illuminated by a purple lava lamp. My phone buzzed beside me for about the millionth time that evening. I glanced over to see Beck was calling. Again. I ignored it and returned my eyes to the ceiling.

Several minutes later I heard the doorbell ring. I vaguely heard the Trophy wife opening the door and greeting someone, before yelling towards my bedroom "Jade! Your boyfriend Brady is here!"

I rolled my eyes not moving an inch. How the _hell_ do you get Brady out of Beck?

Promptly afterwards I heard the door to my room open, and footsteps down the stairs. The main light in the room flicked on, much to my dismay. I wanted to be alone.

"Turn it back off." I grumbled. But he ignored me, and started across the room.

When he reached the foot of my bed he called out my name. "Jade?"

I didn't answer.

He sighed, before I felt the bed dip and his head appeared in my line of sight looking down at me. "Jade, talk to me please." He implored.

I pushed him back a bit so I could sit up. I leveled a glare at him. "Why are you here?" I asked softly. I don't know why I asked that. I already knew why.

"Jade, you went through some shit today, and I want to be here for you. I was and am worried about you." Beck said earnestly. The love and sincerity dripping from every word. I felt bile rising into my throat and my stomach began to swirl with nausea.

"Why are you worried about me?" I asked. It came out small and pitiful. Why would anyone care about a murderous, gank like me?

"What do you mean why?" He said incredulously. "I could've lost you today Jade."

"Well you didn't, so you can go now." I said. I laid back down and rolled over so my back was facing him. I pressed my eyes shut hoping he would leave. I wasn't that lucky.

"Jade… please just talk to me." His voice was desperate and I could hear undertones of frustration.

"I obviously don't want to talk, otherwise I would've picked up the phone. Take a fucking hint dumbass."

He let out a sigh of frustration. "Jade, what's up with you lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the distance, the coldness, and the jabs at me. Not just today but for the past few months."

"I don't know what you are talking about." I lied. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I had been distant. Our relationship had become mechanical at best. I spent most of my time alone.

"I've been trying to give you space. I wanted you to come to me on your own terms, but that clearly isn't going to happen. I can't do this anymore." He stated exasperatedly.

I rolled over and looked at him. "What exactly can't you do anymore?" I asked venomously.

"I can't do this anymore Jade. I can't be a guy for you to have a relationship with only when it is convenient to you." He said sadly.

"So that's it?"

"Jade, what other choice do I have? I've been with you 3 years, and I feel like we are worse off than where we started at. I can't be your punching bag. I mean I know your childhood sucked, but it's not fair to take it out on me."

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about I_Beck._"

"I don't know about it because after three fucking years in a relationship with you, you've told me jack shit about you. And I get it maybe you don't want to talk about it, but you don't even try to come to me with it. You don't try to do anything in our relationship frankly." He lost his cool. Anger boiled in his words.

He was right of course. I had been trying less and less. I was so caught up in dealing with Vega that Beck fell to the wayside. But I couldn't admit it to him, because I wanted it so desperately to not be true.

"I don't try? What because I don't fucking share I'm not trying? Because I don't want to think about the _shitfest _that was my childhood?" I shouted.

"No Jade, not because of you not sharing your past. It's because you don't share you! You don't make time for us, and when you do it's like a chore to you. It's like you aren't even there most of the time otherwise. Half the time we are together I feel like I'm talking to the Great Wall of China!" He said back; his voice was strained.

I was done with this conversation. I couldn't deal with this shit today.

"Get out!" I yelled at him.

"Jade, I love you, I always have but-"

"I don't loved you Beck. I never did." I spat. I don't know why I said it, maybe so it would hurt less, but it was probably the first time I had ever been completely honest with him in our relationship. For a time I thought I loved him; I thought I could be normal, but Vega came and destroyed that illusion.

He was looking at me stunned. Part of me wanted to take it all back, and throw myself into Beck like I did when we first started dating. But I knew I couldn't do that anymore. I couldn't pretend that I wanted to be his girlfriend.

"Get. Out." I ordered.

He looked at me with hurt clear in his eyes. He looked ready to cry. He took a deep breath before getting off my bed and stalking up the stairs.

I knew in the back of my mind this was a long time coming. This was the only resolution to our relationship; me hurting him like I did everyone else. I wanted to hurt or feel sad or feel guilty but I just didn't.

I laid there looking at the ceiling for several more hours. I didn't cry. I didn't sleep. I just stared listlessly at the ceiling watching the shadows dancing as my mind replayed every second of today over and over again.

{~*~}

I had eventually fallen asleep in the wee hours of the morning. The following two days I only got out of bed when my stomach wouldn't shut up or to wazz. I spent hours just lying there doing absolutely nothing.

On Saturday morning my dad made an appearance in my room with the house phone. He was dressed to go into work like always. Suit and jacket the whole nine. He looked upset.

"Jade, why the hell the police are calling for you? What shit did you get yourself into this time? I cannot have you running around doing criminal shit; it looks bad to my investors and shareholders." He snipped.

I wasn't surprised. Being the CEO of Multiverse Technologies always came first to him.

"If you must know daddy dearest, on Wednesday while I was at the bank it got robbed. I was kidnapped and almost died. Thank you for the concern." I said in the most mocking sugar sweet voice I could muster.

He barely seemed to register it what I just told him. He tossed the phone on the bed and left my room promptly.

The call was from Vega's dad asking me to come down to the station to answer some questions whenever I felt up for it. He also added on that Vega still hadn't woken up before getting off the phone.

The nausea was building again. The fear and panic that I had experienced while she was dying in my arms came back full force. All I could think was she wasn't going to wake up, that she would die because of me. I laid back down and continued the routine I had developed over the last few days.

Several hours later my cell phone began buzzing on the nightstand next to me to my surprise. Beck stopped calling and texting me after our argument and Cat stopped after I told her off. As the buzzing continued my curiosity got the better of me; I looked over to see Vega was the caller.

I watched as it buzzed unsure of if I should pick up or not. The decision was made for me when my phone displayed a missed call and a bit later a new voicemail. I spent several more hours wrestling with my thoughts before listening to the voicemail.

"_Uh. Hey Jade. This is Tori. I was just wondering how you were doing. I didn't get much from my parents other than you were okay." She said a bit awkwardly. "I- uh hope you are doing well. Please call me back if you want to talk about anything. Um okay. Bye Jade."_

I could only roll my eyes. She got shot and was in a coma for two and a half days and she was asking if _I_ was okay. Typically Vega.

For the rest of the day I tried to resist the urge to go visit Vega. It wasn't until midnight that I finally gave in and drove to the hospital. I sat in the parking deck for almost an hour before breaking, and going to the ICU.

It was fairly easy to sneak past the nurses in the ICU, and I quickly made it to Vega's room. It was a standard hospital room, Vega's bed was in the middle of the wall to the right with a patient controlled pain pump right next to her bed. There were chairs on the wall across from the entrance, a door to a bathroom, and a TV in the corner. The walls were painted a sickening shade of pale yellow, a "calming color". The smell of antiseptic was stronger in the room than it was in the hallway.

She was sleeping soundly; her chest rose and fell slowly and there were still traces of that stupid smile of hers on her lips. She had a small bandage on the left side of her head, and thick bandages around her left shoulder, where she was shot. There were wires and sensors scattered across her body. Her normally tan completion had paled drastically.

I sat and watched her sleep as anger boiled within me. I swore again those fuckers would pay. I rested my elbows on my knees, and buried my face in my hands. I wished futilely for these feelings to go away; the guilt and anguish I felt looking at her broken body was unbearable.

After a while I heard a small groan of pain pulling from my self-pity and self-deprecation. I looked up to see Vega's face contorted in pain. Her right hand was blindly groping for the pain pump remote. After her being unsuccessful for several seconds I stood and grabbed it before pressing the button several times. The machine beside me whirled, and Vega's face relaxed.

I pushed the remote into her hand and closed her fingers around it. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at me. Instantly, she began smiling. The anger washed away and was replaced by relief; I was genuinely glad she was okay.

"Th-thanks Jade." She said weakly.

I sighed before sitting back in the chair I had been in. "How's your shoulder?" I asked softly.

"Hurts, but s'okay. No major damage. The bullet nicked a small artery, but the doctors were able to patch it up. Dr. Star said I would make a full recovery with a bit of rehab." Her voice was slow and deliberate.

There was a pregnant pause after that; the only sounds were the slight buzz of the florescent in the hallway and the pain pump whirling. We just started at each other blankly, but her face slowly contorted into one of concern.

"So… uh how are you doing Jade?" she asked cautiously breaking the silence.

The anger and guilt washed away any relief that had been present like a tsunami. She was asking if I was okay, and I just couldn't take it anymore.

"No! I'm not! What the fuck is wrong with you Vega?" I growled.

"W-what?" she was confused.

"Why the fuck did you volunteer to get fucking kidnapped? You do realize that they were going to rape and kill whoever they kidnapped." Was she really that naïve?

"I-…" she tried.

"Seriously, are you that fucking stupid and naïve? Or do you have some fucking hero complex?"

"No Jade I'm not and I don't."

"Why the fuck else would you do that? Volunteer to get kidnapped and throw yourself in front of a bullet? No one is that fucking selfless. You are clearly out of your mind." I spat bitterly. She almost died because of me.

"Why are you being like this Jade? What's wrong?" she asked trying to stay calm and rational, but I could hear her getting flustered.

"You fucking died Vega! You were dead on the operating table!" I yelled. It was my fault that she was hurt. And she's acting like we just took a walking in the park.

She looked shocked. She opened and closed her mouth several times, but said nothing. What was there even to say to that other than to scream at me for getting her almost killed?

I paused just staring into her brown eyes for a moment. "Why do you care? Why did you take a bullet for me?" I asked. I couldn't comprehend after all the shit I've done to her she would do something like that for me.

"I figured a 50/50 of me wrestling the gun from him was better than 100% chance of you getting your head blown off. I care about you Jade." She said like it was the most obvious think in the entire universe.

I snorted, she cared about me. Of course she did.

"No one asked you to." I replied as I stood rapidly. I couldn't look sit her and deal with her caring so fucking much. I couldn't deal with the feelings she incited; the way she made me _feel _about her.

"Do you have a death wish or something?" she asked softly. I barely heard her.

I didn't reply. I simply turned and left, leaving her bewildered I'm sure.

I sprinted to my car and threw myself inside. Tears started to fall from my eyes, caused by feelings that I didn't want to have. I wanted so badly not to care about her, but I knew it was a losing battle. She stole my heart the second I saw her.

* * *

**A/N: I would like to thank all of the wonderful people that left reviews. I definitely failed at updating weekly XD. I hope you can forgive me. I rewrote this chapter 3 times to get it to where I was happy with it. I won't make any grandiose claims about regular updates, I'm starting my 3rd year of university so I don't know exactly how much free time I will have to write, but I'll try my best. Please leave a review I love hearing what you guys think :D.**


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